I could go on a long list of why I hate these corporate whores but this is specifically regarding just one issue, their insistence on putting beer in a plastic bag before allowing the customer to leave the store.
They always tell me that it is NYS law that beer must be placed in a bag unless it is in the form of a twelve pack. There is no law, and I'm not sure how to prove that a law doesn't exist, but I did find this...
A reader writes:
What is the law regarding alcoholic beverages and if they need to be put in a bag when purchased? I recently bought a six pack of beer which obviously comes in a convenient carrying container, but was told that it needed to be in a bag. When I asked why, I was told that it was the law. I politely asked which one and was told, “The state law”. I was amused so I asked which state law and didn’t get an answer. So which law is it?
I forwarded the question to the State Liquor Authority. The response, from Leslie W. Trebby, an associate attorney in the SLA’s Office of Counsel:
I have reviewed the New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law and the Rules of the New York State Liquor Authority and have found no provision that requires a grocery store licensed to sell beer (or a retail package liquor store) to place a purchased alcoholic beverage item into a bag
In the absence of a provision in the ABC Law or in the Authority’s rules specifically addressing this issue, I am of the view that the seller is under no legal obligation to place the purchased item into a bag.
So I made another complaint on their website but this time I did it store specific and I hope I get a response.
I know this is such a ridiculous thing to get angry about but it makes me so crazy because it's just such a stupid thing to have to fight people about. When I tell them I don't want a bag they will say "Oh well you can do whatever you want with it once you get out of the store"but they just don't get that the reason you don't want the bag is because you didn't want it to exist in the first place. Ugh!
